THE NEXT THREE WEEKS WERE A BLUR. WE WERE REGULAR high school students by day and vicious vigilante crime fighters by night. Adhering to Howie’s expert tactical advice allowed Jason and I to stay two steps ahead of the scum that we cleansed the streets of as well as the ungrateful local authorities that wanted us out of their cities. The nighttime crime fighting was fun. It was helping me to control my dormant rage, but as the days became weeks, my desire to take down The Suspect grew stronger. Just as I was starting to get agitated at Howie’s lack of concrete leads on The Strangers, he dropped a whopper on us.
As we ate lunch in the cafeteria at school, I could tell that something was on his mind.
“I think I’ve made a breakthrough in The Stranger case, Adam,” whispered Howie from across the table. We were always careful not to talk “business” at school, so I figured Howie must have discovered something big. Jason and I both inched forward as he peered over his shoulder and checked for eavesdroppers before he continued.
“I’ve been monitoring communications from the outpost we bugged and cross referencing the data with other information that I gathered from online, and I think I’ve figured out where they’re holding the girl,” he whispered. Jason and I both knew that by “the girl” he meant Senator Larson’s daughter.
“What about The Suspect?” I asked impatiently. I knew April Larson’s disappearance was a big deal, but at the end of the day, nailing the man responsible for the death of my brother was all that I cared about.
“He’s still in the wind at this point, but-”
“Then we have nothing!” I whispered harshly.
“Not necessarily, Adam,” he replied, almost pleading with me to hear him out. “This isn’t just some run-of-the-mill outpost we’re talking about. This is one of their main facilities. I’ve already devised a plan for the extraction of the girl, but she’s not the only target. There’s valuable intelligence in that place, and we’re not leaving without it.”
“What makes you think we’ll find anything worth using?” I asked.
“It’s too complicated to explain right now. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one, Adam,” Howie replied.
“Alright. We shouldn’t talk about this here anyway,” I said.
“You’re right. Let’s meet at 3D after school and I’ll bring you guys up to speed,” Howie said.
We all nodded and quickly finished the rest of our lunch before parting ways.
I WAS THE FIRST TO ARRIVE AT 3D AFTER SCHOOL. INSTEAD of taking the bus, I decided to go for a sprint along my favorite back roads. The roads that I took to and from school were used very little, so I had plenty of opportunities to really cut loose. I had been running a lot and steadily perfecting my running form and balance in order to increase my top speed. Because of this, I could now maintain a speed of around 150 miles per hour even without an adrenaline rush.
Once I arrived at 3D, I grabbed twelve energy bars, flopped onto the couch, and scarfed them down as I awaited the arrival of my comrades. It had only been a month or so since I discovered what I could do, but I had already gained well over 100 pounds of muscle. It only looked like I had gained around twenty pounds to the naked eye due to the extreme density of my muscles.
The sudden humming of the entrance behind me caught my attention. Finally, I thought to myself as I finished my last energy bar. I was puzzled when the door retracted for only a few seconds then stopped, leaving it only six inches above the floor.
That’s odd, I thought as I pushed myself to my feet.
“Jason?” I called out, confused as to what was going on with the door.
No one answered.
“Howie, is that you?” There was still no answer, as I took a cautious step forward and listened.
As I slowly approached the entrance, I clenched my fists as my heartbeat lightly echoed in my head. Something didn't seem right. I eyed my Reaper mask in the far corner of the room near the conference table. I thought about retrieving it for a moment but I decided against it.
Maybe it’s Jason’s dad, I thought as I forced myself to relax. Technically, he did own the place. I decided that having him witness me bursting through a metal door wearing the mask of one of the most notorious figures in the country wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Mr. Kilpatrick?” I called out.
Silence.
“This isn’t funny, guys!” I shouted as I patiently waited for someone to call off the possible joke.
Two canisters suddenly shot underneath the door and skidded across the floor. As a thick yellowish gas spewed out of the canisters and quickly filled the room, I realized that it wasn’t a joke at all. I dove for cover behind the large couch and contemplated my next move. For a moment, time seemed to slow down as my adrenaline flowed, but then something strange happened. As the gas entered my system, my heart rate dropped drastically.
I was suddenly seeing triple as I attempted to stand and make my escape. The door sprang open and in a matter of seconds, I was swarmed by shadowy figures before I had a chance to compose myself. My vision was so blurred that the only detail I could make out was that they were all dressed in black.
How did they find me? I wondered. How did The Strangers find me? Suddenly, my body felt was as heavy as it used to in the beginning. I was drenched in my own sweat as I tried in vain to flee. The figures surrounding me easily avoided my feeble attempts to strike them. As the gas robbed me of my strength, I fell to my knees and felt my body begin to shut down.
So this is how it ends, I thought as my face slammed against the floor. Something troubled me as I slipped out of consciousness. I remember hoping that I remembered it when or if I was ever awakened.
I WASN’T SURE HOW MUCH TIME HAD PASSED WHEN I FINALLY came to. When I opened my eyes, I found myself propped against a wall in a large empty room lined with light grey walls. There were no windows and only one large metal exit 25 feet away directly across the room from me. After a few moments, it all started to slowly come back to me.
I squinted and shielded my eyes from the four bright lights shining from the ceiling above. The dazzling white light was adding to what was already the worst headache that I had ever experienced. I was still disoriented but somehow I managed to pull myself to my feet.
“Hello?” I called out. I wasn’t surprised when no one answered. Why are they keeping me alive? I wondered as I searched the room for anything that I could use as a weapon. When I realized the room was completely empty, I walked toward the metal door intent on smashing it to pieces with my bare hands and escaping.
Halfway across the room my face slammed into a thick, unseen glass barrier that separated the room into halves.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself as I stumbled backward. I cautiously approached the barrier once more and placed my hands on the glass in disbelief.
Whatever The Strangers gassed me with didn’t leave me with much strength, but I couldn’t simply sit around and wait for them to come and finish the job. I could tell that the glass was incredibly thick, but I was compelled to try to break through it anyway. I took a deep breath then turned and took a few steps away from the glass barrier as I prepared to punch it with every ounce of strength that remained within me.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Adam,” said a strange, male voice from behind me.
I instantly spun around to face this mystery person. I expected to see a Stranger operative, but to my surprise, a middle-aged man wearing a black suit and a long overcoat stood alone in the entrance of the now open metal door.
He was nearly six feet tall and a bit on the chubby side. He was probably in his mid to late 50’s judging by his slightly balding head and the lines in the corners of his eyes.
“Showing me your face was a big mistake, Stranger,” I growled as I drew back my fist. The man suddenly pointed to my left with such conviction that I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Not a good idea, sport. You punch that glass and the same gas we dosed you with earlier comes pouring out of
that vent.”
I couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or not, but I didn’t want to take the risk. That gas had left me feeling so awful that I didn’t know if I could take another dosage and make it out alive.
“You’d better kill me quickly, Stranger, because if I ever get out of here, your neck is the first one that I’ll break,” I snarled.
The metal door automatically slid shut behind him as the man silently strolled forward into the room.
“No need for threats, sport. I’m one of the good guys,” he said, as he stopped two feet away from the glass barrier.
“What kind of fool do you take me for?” I hissed.
“Your hesitance is understandable, but I assure you that I am not a part of the terrorist organization known as The Legion of Strangers.”
“And you expect me to believe you? Why? Simply because you said so?”
“If I was a Stranger, would I have shown you my face? That’s their M.O. right? The masks?” he said, as he playfully waved his hand over his face.
He actually had a point. From what I had heard, The Strangers always wore masks to hide their identities. Complete anonymity was one of their defining characteristics.
“Why did you imprison me if you’re not working with The Strangers?” I demanded.
“We haven’t imprisoned you, Adam. After this is over, you will be free to go.”
How does he know my name? I silently wondered. Who is this man? “What do you mean, after this is over? What do you want from me?” I asked.
He cracked a crooked smile as he peered at me through the glass. There was something untrustworthy about his pale grey eyes. “Adam, my name is Special Agent Wells. I’m with the United States government.”
My heart sank as I realized that my greatest fear of becoming a government lab rat was possibly about to come true.
“The government? What does the government want with me?” I asked as I forced a sizable lump down my throat.
Agent Wells was now inches away from the glass. From where I stood, he and I were roughly six feet apart. If I wasn’t suffering from the side effects of that mysterious gas, I could have smashed through the glass and beat some real answers out of him. At the least, I could have beaten that smug smile off of his face.
“Adam, I’m going to be as frank with you as possible. We need your help, son. We need your help in order to take down an international terrorist organization.”
He had gotten my attention.
“Why do you need my help? You’re telling me that the government doesn’t have enough fire power to take down The Strangers without the help of a 16-year-old kid?” I asked smugly.
Agent Wells chuckled but I didn’t see what was so funny.
“Two things, sport. Number one: The Strangers are small fish. Number two: we both know that you’re no ordinary 16-year-old kid.”
The lump in my throat tripled in size as the gravity of the situation set in. It all seemed like such fun when Jason and I were zooming through the night playing superhero, but I was now starting to realize just how serious my circumstances truly were.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I choked out.
“Sure thing, sport,” Wells said with a wink. His arrogant posturing was really pissing me off.
“If you’re not after The Suspect, then what do you need me for?” I asked.
“The Suspect is a puppet, Mr. Reaper. We’re after the man behind the curtain pulling all the strings. We are after The Righteous.”
I was familiar with that name. However, from what I had heard, The Righteous was nothing more than an urban legend. He was the mysterious so-called uber-terrorist that no country in the world had the power to bring down.
“You’re kidding me, right? You’re asking me to help you go after a myth when there is a legitimate maniac on the loose right now?”
“Listen to me, son, The Righteous is not a myth. He is the second most dangerous thing on the face of this planet.”
“Second? Then what's the first?” I asked,
“You are.”
We both watched each other in uneasy silence for a moment.
“No one has even seen his face! The Righteous may as well be a cartoon character for all I care. The Suspect is real. You see him every day on the internet and on TV giving his little speeches and murdering people, yet you have the audacity to say that he doesn’t matter. Do the lives of the people that they’ve killed not matter either?! If you want my help, then you’d better go after something real. Don’t waste my time asking me to chase a person that probably doesn’t even exist!”
“That’s all a part of his grand scheme, son,” Wells retorted, his expression suddenly serious. “He doesn’t want to be the one in the headlines. He doesn’t care to take the credit for the big attacks because he doesn’t want to become the next big target. We’re in the middle of a Shadow War…one that we’ve been fighting for over three decades. Nearly every terrorist organization and every terrorist attack that has happened in the last thirty years was in some way orchestrated by The Righteous.”
“If he’s so powerful, what makes you think I can stop him?” I asked.
Wells raised an eyebrow and stared at me in silence for a moment.
“That’s classified,” he finally said.
A wave of confusion and anger washed over me. “Classified? How can you expect me to help you if you won’t tell me how you think I can help?!” I shouted.
“I can’t get into the details right now, but just know that you play a significant role in our plans to neutralize him.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to help you.”
“I don’t remember asking.” Wells’ tone was cold and firm. The smug, joking attitude that he initially entered the room with had completely vanished.
“Eliminating The Suspect is my number one priority. I can’t just walk away from that,” I said firmly.
Wells stepped closer to the glass, as if to make certain that I saw the seriousness in his icy grey eyes.
“The Strangers are off limits,” he said firmly.
“You’re protecting them?” I asked, bewildered.
“We’ve got men on the inside of their organization. If you and your team interfere, you could ruin the entire operation. They’re all connected, Adam. The Strangers, Al Qaeda, all of them. You wonder why we don’t just storm in guns blazing and round up the small fish? I’ll tell you why. It’s because then there’s no one left to lead us back to the whales, son. The big fish is what it’s all about.”
The room fell silent. Wells stared at me, waiting for a reply.
“Whales are mammals. They’re not fish,” I finally said.
Wells smacked his forehead in frustration and glared at me.
“How can you be so short sighted?” he grumbled.
“He killed my brother! You expect me to just forget about that?”
“Ultimately, The Righteous is responsible for what happened to your brother, Adam. He’s the very reason that The Strangers exist!”
“Who is he?” I asked abruptly.
“What do you mean?” Wells asked.
“Who is The Suspect? I want a name. If you know about me then I know you have the recourses to find out about them.”
I could see in his eyes that I had caught him off guard with that question.
“That’s classified,” he finally replied.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “How can you expect me to help you when I don’t even know if I can trust you?” I asked, outraged.
Agent Wells turned his back to me and took a few steps toward the door before pausing.
“You know, it’s quite interesting that you’re so big on trust, Mr. Reaper,” he said in a peculiar tone.
“Of course, I am. Isn’t everybody?” I asked, not sure what he was getting at.
“Well, in that case, you may want to take a second look at the members of that little crime fighting team, of yours,” he
said with his back still turned to me. I could no longer see his face, but I could tell he was smiling.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“I’m saying one of your trusted teammates is a Stranger.” His words hit me like an unexpected punch to the nose.
“That’s a lie! You’re just saying that to screw with my head!” I shouted after him.
Wells didn’t respond as he continued toward the exit.
“You can’t stop me from going after him!” I yelled.
Agent Wells quickly turned to face me as he reached the exit. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong, sport. You may be incredibly fast, strong, and durable…but you’re not unstoppable. You know that gas we hit you with earlier? It’s got a very interesting affect on your kind given the proper dosage. You should keep that in mind.”
I didn’t know how to respond. After weeks of an almost god-like existence, I suddenly found myself mortal again.
“Think about my offer,” Wells calmly stated as he exited the room. Suddenly, a faint hissing sound rang out, sending a tremor down my spine. The sweet smell of the gas that was now my greatest fear crept into my nostrils within seconds. I placed my hands over my nose and mouth, but I could already feel the gas taking its toll on me. I soon fell to the floor, and as I faded closer to oblivion, I remember wondering what Agent Wells meant by “your kind” just before my last speck of consciousness slipped away.
33. REVELATIONS